I consider the VERO King and Guard nutcrackers to be companion pieces but that's just my feeling about it.

At any given time, you can find two or three of either model for sale.

The simplest form of the King, pictured here with the Guard, was sold without a scepter. This 13 5/8-inch King was going bald when I got it. It was also missing its mustache and some paint from the wood parts.

A version of this model of King with a scepter can be seen in the last image. This specimen, was in better shape than most but required its dirty, matted fur hair to be replaced. It was the least expensive nutcracker I've purchased, possibly due to the full disclosure by the seller. It was suggested that it might be haunted. If it does turn out to be possessed, I'll let you know, if I survive, of course. But really, it's the cursed objects they don't tell you about that are the most concerning.

There were other, more elaborate versions of the King, including a model with a blue coat. There were also smaller 10-inch versions of the King.

The 15 7/8-inch Guard was missing its mustache and feet as well as some paint from the wood parts.

It's possible that there was a version of the Guard that came without a rifle. About half of the ones you see on eBay don't have them. The only catalog picture of the VERO soldiers, I've seen, shows the Guard with a rifle. Parts like this tend to get separated and lost. The rifle with this Guard is a facsimile, made according to images of originals on the Web.

All of the pictured nutcrackers had the usual loose joints.